


Cursed Hope

by gothikuk



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:28:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21769894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothikuk/pseuds/gothikuk
Summary: I loved the game but i didn't totally agree with everything that went on, so this is an AU version of the game that was floating in my head. Whilst the general idea of the cult attempting to force the residents of Hope County into thier religious community remains the same, the rest is all my doing, and i certainly do not believe that "Rook" would convert to the family when he has fought so hard to resist them. So how it will end is up to me.Far Cry itself and the characters within are the sole property of Ubisoft games and remain as such, i am making no money from this and i am just playing in thier sandbox.
Relationships: Deputy | Judge & Mary May Fairgrave, Grace Armstrong/Joey Hudson, Jess Black/Sharky Boshaw, Kim Rye/Nick Rye, Staci Pratt/Jacob Seed
Kudos: 9





	1. Calm before the storm

** CURSED HOPE **

** Spread Eagle bar, Falls End, Holland Valley, Hope County, Montana. **

_Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection into eternal life_  
  


The Spread Eagle was full, it had been getting busier each night, and with another victor against the Seed family, it seemed everyone in Hope County wanted to drink in the place that had become a beacon for not only the resistance of Holland Valley but the other areas around the county too.

The man sat at the table furthest from the bar toyed with his lighter as he stared out the window, Boomer sat by his feet and curled up on the seat across from him was Peaches, one of the patrons, a young man rescued by the Deputy from a Bliss infused outpost stared at the Cougar as she opened her mouth and yawned. “You allow a mountain Lion in here?” he asked the blonde behind the bar.

Mary May gave a slight smile and taking a beer glass she filled it up “You wanna tell Peaches she can’t come in with her daddy then you go ahead.”

The sight of the Cougars teeth as she yawned was enough to stop that argument. Giving the patron another look that said point made, Mary made her way over to the table and set a beer down, taking her time to scratch Peaches behind her ears, making the large cat purr in appreciation. She sat beside the Deputy and moved the beer across to him.

“Look like you can use this Nate.” She nudged his shoulder playfully, anything to make him smile.

It worked, but only because it was her. Nathan “Rook” Carter was not American. He was a former British Royal Marine Commando, tours in the worlds worst hotspots had dimmed his view on how humans were nothing more than the worst animals life had ever created. When his duty to Queen and country had come to an end, he emigrated to the USA, initially to be with his mother and stepfather who had moved back to his stepfathers home here in Hope County a decade previous. He had planned to see out his days helping his stepfather around the farm, but, after several heated discussions, he had applied to and recently joined the Hope County Sheriffs office. It seemed to be ok at first, Joey Hudson had been partnered with him, and she had been a good partner, making him feel at ease and ribbing him about his accent. Earl Whitehorse, the old Sheriff had been a guiding figure so far, but Nate didn’t get on with Staci Pratt, finding him obnoxious and condescending and the fact some of the words Nate used he felt he had to mimic.

All in all, though Hope County had been the peace he had been looking for, until that is, that fucking US Marshall rolled into town with a warrant for the arrest of Joseph Seed. The Sheriff had tried the diplomatic approach, the marshal screwed that up then the fucker left him in the burning helicopter while the Peggies had taken Joey and Pratt. It had seemed poetic justice that he had been taken and Nate had been saved by mad old Dutch, who didn’t seem so mad now. Everything after that had just gone to hell in a hand basket real fast. Peaches had been trapped in one of those Peggie animal control centres. He had tried to take her back to Mable but the young Cougar had taken a liking to him and followed him home here.

So far, he had helped Nick Rye, not only to get his plane back but a rush drive to the Hope County Medical Centre had resulted in Carmina coming into the world. Grace Armstrong was standing by the slot machine feeding her jar of change into it and trying to ignore Sharky Boshaw. There were others who needed help there in the cultist war torn land, but right now, Nate was trying to figure out how to get Joey Hudson out of the clutches of the sadistic John Seed. Several months before he had gone on a date with Mary May and the two had been together ever since, so when the call came over the radio that Falls End had fallen to the Cult, he had got his ass in gear and made sure he got rid of those damn cultists first. He lit a cigarette and sipped some beer.

“One thing about American Beer, its always cold.” He murmured with appreciation.

“You don’t get cold beer in Britain huh?”

“Only if you buy it in bottles or cans and stick ‘em in the fridge.”

Nate was a handsome man, in his late twenties with short black hair and blue eyes. He was covered in tattoos but pride of place was the dagger that pointed up and the Royal Marine Commandos logo. Under which was the Latin words “Per Mare, Per Terram” and under that was 43 Commando.

“So, what does that mean exactly?” Mary asked stroking the dagger tattoo.

“By Sea, By Land” Nate told her and taking her hand kissed her fingers. “The by land bit is probably more appropriate now pet.”

“Ok come on, where in the UK do, they call their women Pet? I went to London once and that is not a London accent.”

“Newcastle Bonny girl. I’m from Newcastle. My dad was a docker but he and mam divorced when I was 14 and my sister was 12.” He ran his finger round the rim of his beer glass “Ralph was one of the service men stationed at a US base in Yorkshire, he and ma met and that was it love at first sight I guess you could say.”

“I’m sorry about your mom, she was a lovely woman and Ralph was the kindest man in these parts.”

John Seed had moved in and taken the farm, by force, killing his mother and stepfather and killing the livestock. All in the few hours it took for Nate and his friends to fly to the Eden’s Gate compound. To be honest he had not given it much thought now, strange how that was. People all around him were grieving the loss of friends and family. Some had been murdered, others had been kidnapped and taken to whichever Seed sibling laid claim on them. When Joseph Seed had ordered his followers to “Begin the Reaping,” he was not joking.

He ran a large hand over his unshaven jaw. His deputy shirt long since burnt by Dutch he now wore a Sleeveless shirt with Trouble Maker across the front and a pair of blue jeans, both of which did nothing to hide his impressive physique.

“You need some rest Nate.” Mary smoothed her hand through his short hair. “So why don’t you go on up and get some sleep. I’ll even send Peaches here up to sit outside the door so no one disturbs you.” Mary glanced over at the slot machine to see Grace stare as it began to pay out and Sharky crowing about how he was right to have interfered “I am sure Sharky and Grace won’t let anyone come up and disturb you.”

“You could leave someone in charge and come join me for a bit.” He murmured nuzzling her neck a little.

Mary put her hand on his neck and leaned into his touch. She was tempted but, then again, who would run the bar, she sure as hell wasn’t letting Sharky anywhere near the bar unless it was the customer side, and Grace would scare her patrons off.

“Maybe when Kim comes down with Nick later, I’ll get her to do a turn so I can come have a lay down with you.” She promised “For now Rook, lets get you to bed and rest, or Grace will be on my ass for not making sure you sleep.”

Nathan drained his beer and getting up let Mary take his hand and lead him up the stairs. Boomer and Peaches following. If Mary didn’t know better than she would have said the dog and Cougar had decided between themselves to stand guard outside their masters room. Mary watched as the Deputy got undressed and got into the large bed. She lent over and dropped a kiss on his brow, “Sleep as long as you like Nate, I’ll come check on you later.”

Nathan nodded and surprisingly as soon as Mary was at the door, he had fallen straight asleep. Mary May closed the door and looked at both Boomer and Peaches. Crouching down to their level. “No one but me in there, OK guys? Let Rook have his rest.” Boomer licked her hand and Peaches ran her head along the bar owners face. “That’s right girl, you look after my man for me. “

She ruffled Boomers head and stroked Peaches behind the ear, as beautiful and loyal as Peaches was, Mary had not forgotten she was still a wild animal who had chosen to stay with humans, something those damn Peggies had forgotten.

“Mary the beer needs changing.” Chad called up.

“Well go change it then I’ll be down in a sec.”

** Johns Gate bunker, somewhere in Holland Valley. **

She lay on the floor, the bowl of food untouched. Her uniform once pristine now dirty with sweat and blood and the smell of the contents of the bucket nearby was near nauseating enough for her to have watery eyes. She shared her room with five other people and every day the cultists would try and tell them they were saving them.

Saving them from what exactly? One of the men, a young man by the name of Josiah came in and carefully peeled the tape from her mouth. He held out a cup of water and even though she knew what that water contained; she was thirsty.

“It’s pure water sister.” He answered the slight hesitation in her eyes. “Only pure water here. John will need you at your most vocal when it is time to hear your sins.”

Even the mention of that sadist made her move back against the wall and despite her own resolve, the fear it invoked was enough to have her shaking from head to toe. “Easy sister, just drink and I will take you where you can have a wash and something better to eat. We will look after you, but I will have to bring you back here after. While John is at Eden’s Gate with the Father you can stretch your legs, as long as you promise to behave.”

She looked past him to the two-armed guards at the door. She might have been able to take one of them on, but not both, not in her weakened state. She was tired, she hurt and the beating she had received at the hands of the cult when they pulled her from the helicopter made her bones ache, that wasn’t to mention the torture that John had put her through, he had broken one of her fingers then had his men reset it only to break it again and reset it again. Every time she refused to say Yes.

The worst part of this, was for a man of god, he was enjoying the pain he inflicted on her and the others, of the ten that had been brought in with her, two had died violently when they tried to escape, their skinned bodies were on display in his little torture chamber, called the confessional of the confessor.

Confessor? More like some old style Spanish Inquisitor with the horrors he inflicted, she could still hear the screams of those two even now, when she closed her eyes she could hear them pleading for mercy, and she could hear his voice full of false apologies, saying how he didn’t want to do this but they had to be an example, they had to be an example to all who would defy the will of the father.

She knew because he had made them all watch on the monitor in their cell. Made them watch as he peeled the skin from the still living youths, their screaming only stopped when he had taken their faces off. She didn’t know what he would do with the skins, and she didn’t want to know.

Their bodies were strung up far from the bunker as a warning she supposed, she didn’t know. After that four of the group gave in and said Yes, converting to the cults ideals more through fear of what John would do if they didn’t. He tattooed their sin for all to see and then when he was sure they were sincere in their conversion, he cut the sin from them. She had noticed that he got turned on when he inflicted the pain on them, their screams of agony seemed to do more things for him then being with a lover. Now there were just five of them that had held out and she wasn’t sure which one of them would break first. Now since someone was destroying the outposts of the cult here and there. They didn’t know who it was but they were certain it was the fledgling Resistance, more so since they took back Falls End.

Now John was with his brothers and sister and there was a sense of calm in the bunker, they even treated their new “brothers and sisters” better than they did when John was around. It seemed to her that they did not love him as they loved Joseph, they feared him and sometimes that was a more driving loyalty factor than love.

She let Josiah help her stand and let him undo the ties that bound her wrists. She wouldn’t do anything, she couldn’t not yet, but it didn’t hurt to get a lay out of her surroundings. She would need it at some point, because no one was coming for her. She didn’t know if Pratt, Earl or Rook was alive, she hoped that Burke was dead, if he had not forced the issue then they would not have attacked, if he had let Earl do the talking then none of this would have happened. She kept her head low, something Rook had told her was a good way to not let the enemy see what she was thinking, made them think she was being subservient, when she was anything but.

Deputy Joey Hudson remembered the talks her partner and her had when they were on patrol together. Patrol was a joke, in Hope County patrol consisted of breaking up arguments between farmers, stopping the occasional speeding teenager and tossing drunks in the drunk tank. This was way above her pay grade, she didn’t like Burke and she didn’t like how he swaggered. Well all Earls warnings fell on deaf ears; the Marshall did what he wanted and how he wanted and no one was going to tell him any different.

Hudson drank the water, whether it contained Bliss or not she didn’t care at the moment, it was just soothing to her harsh throat, Josiah put a plate of meat and bread before her and told her to eat up then let her use the communal shower, telling the guards to give her some privacy but to remain outside. Whilst she showered her uniform was tossed out and more casual clothes were found for her, all under the orders of John. He was trying a different approach to get the headstrong deputy, who was really the deputy Sheriff to say Yes.

As the water cascaded over her, Joey Hudson was thinking of ways not to say Yes and how to get herself out of this situation. She knew the longer she resisted John the worse her punishment would be, so she might as well take a little time to indulge herself.

It might be the last she got.


	2. A Question of faith and lies.

**_“And I heard as if it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of many thunderings, saying Alleluia; for the lord god omnipotent reigneth”_ **

**_Revelations 19:6_ **

Pastor Jerome was, a troubled man. His congregation was declining and had been more so since the Cult began The Reaping and it wasn’t just because more of his flock was being kidnapped. Some had even begun to see what Joseph Seed had been preaching and it made a twisted kind of sense to them. He said the collapse had begun and this justified the actions of his demented family.

Whilst he could put them down to being fanatics, the same couldn’t be said about his missing flock. The man walked the walk and talked the talk, Joseph was charismatic, polite when he had to be, wrathful like any TV evangelist when he needed to be. Jerome thought he was insane, thought all his family were insane, but even he could not deny that Joseph Seed had a way about him that compelled men and women to listen to him.

His convictions and strength appealed to the men and he had no doubt that the fact he walked around bare chested showing his tattoos and scars and a physique honed to what he believed was perfection appealed to the women.

It was late and Jerome was in his church alone. Not a sound except the evening breeze whipping through the church bell tower. He got up from his seat and moved round to behind his lectern, opening the bible to the book of Revelations and read them.

All he had heard since his last, confrontation with Joseph was him quoting the breaking of the seals, to be honest it was all he seemed to quote, that was not to say he was not versed in other avenues of the book of god, he just seemed obsessed with the book of Revelations. Jerome had learnt long ago not to put much stock in such fervour, it only ever caused trouble, wars that destroyed nations were started because of such fervour. He did not believe in forcing the word of god into someones head like a hammer to a nail, the god he loved and spoke the words off, wanted man to come willingly to him. Men like Joseph Seed wanted to control, wanted to paint the good lord as a wrathful being who wanted absolute obedience. To disobey was to invite divine retribution upon their heads. Such was the way of Cults, be they here or overseas, it was always the way.

He closed the book and rested his hands either side of the lectern leaning into it as if he was himself trying to draw some comfort from the words, some insight into the words that he could use to rally his flock against the Cult of Edensgate. He closed his eyes willing the words to come to him, but they would not.

“Looking to see if God is going to hear you father?”

Jerome looked up to see Nathan walk in with Boomer and Peaches either side of him. It made Jerome smirk a little, a human walking with a dog was nothing unusual, walking with a cougar well, that was something. Not a sight you would expect to see any day of the week.

“I was hoping he might give me some insight Nathan.” Jerome sighed and walked round and sat on the front pew, motioning to the seat beside him. “But as usual he has said nothing.”

“Did you really expect him too?” Rook asked “Lets face it father, every man or woman who has ever been in charge of cults have always believed they are messengers of god or the new messiah or the earthly carnation of a archangel or whatever else their mind comes up with,” The Deputy heaved a heavy sigh “Chances are father, he’s fed up with nutjobs pretending to be his son or, committing atrocities in his name.”

Jerome lifted one shoulder in a shrug and smirked a little in resignation, “No,” he sighed “No I did not for god need not answer me, but I was hoping to see whatever it is that Joseph sees,”

“You need to be a really good psychiatrist to understand that one father.” Rook sat himself down and crossed one leg over the other. He looked up at the cross that hung from the ceiling and scratched his stubble.

He had slept well; he was surprised how tired he was and he did not even feel Mary get into bed beside him. Nor did he feel her put her arm around him, so he must have been tired.

“I was trained to kill and to hide and to ambush.” He softly spoke, as if talking any louder would disturb whatever presence was here. “Rook fiddled with a signet ring on his finger. “I served four tours in Afghanistan, a couple in Iraq and one in Libya. So, when my mam wrote me and told me that she wanted me to come join her here, I was a little sceptical at first, but when I got here, well I found a peace and tranquillity that had been lacking from my life for a long time.”

“England has its beauty too so I have been told.”

“Yeah, she does, and no sound stirs a Geordies soul like that of a roaring crowd at St. James park on a Saturday afternoon.” He saw the priests perplexed look “Geordie is what they call people from Newcastle. It’s an old Briton name for people from where I come from. St James Park is where our Football team play.”

“Ah Soccer,” Jerome nodded “I used to watch the odd game or two when I was not saving souls.”

“That’s an old argument father, one that I have had with Nick and Sharky many a time.”

Jerome laughed and nodded “I expect it is.”

Nathan stretched a little and tucked his hands behind his head looking up at the vaunted ceiling, he found this church to be quaint, probably had been here since the towns founding in the 1800’s. a lot of it reminded him of the old wild west films he had seen when he was a kid. Although the houses were modern now, the layout was reminiscent of how it would have been a couple hundred years ago.

“I have seen the worst humanity has to offer Jerome.” The Englishman finally said after a long contemplative pause. “I think god probably packed up and left the building a long time ago. No disrespect father, but can you blame him?”

“See I don’t believe that Rook, I believe he with us in our hearts, he is with us in the beauty of the world and its ugliness.”

Nathan sat straighter and turned side on, locking his fingers together. He nodded a little, normally he avoided conversastion like this, it only caused more problems, but Jerome was a different kind of preacher, one who genuinely cared about not just the spiritual but physical well being of his congregation. He believed deeply in his faith and, if there were those who faltered well, he had enough faith for the whole damn county, and he was a badass with a semi-automatic rifle. Hardly surprising, the man was a gulf war veteran before he became a man of the cloth. For that reason alone, Nathan respected him. He had seen the worst humanity had to offer and yet he believed that not everything was stained crimson or black and white.

“There was this man in my unit. An officer, he wasn’t particularly special, he didn’t stand out in a crowd, but then we weren’t supposed to. Instead he had this charisma about him, he had something about him that made you listen, that let you know that, like your brothers around you, you could put your life in his hands. You know that officers are supposed to inspire, supposed to look after the wellbeing of their men and women, but Lieutenant Hargraves was a different stripe of man.

Marines are a superstitious lot Jerome; you know this and he became our unit talisman. With him leading us we never lost and never left a man behind and we were the best of the best. The Royal Marines were the elite of the British forces, the Commandos were just an extension of that and he brought us home, every time. Men like him are rare, men like Joseph Seed are rarer.”

“You would put Joseph Seed in that category?” Jerome asked.

“You weren’t there Jerome. His followers follow him because they genuinely love him, not out of fear of the wrath of god or some delusion that he is god incarnate like some of these cults you have over here. Because they love him and adore him and his charisma is something that cannot be easily dismissed, or defeated.”

Jerome nodded slightly, “Joseph Seed used to be a friend of mine.” Jerome admitted. “We would sit together and read scripture and he stole my congregation out from under my very nose. As their priest I let them down. I told them they had nothing to worry about, to believe that god worked his plan his own way, that to live a righteous path was the only thing they needed to worry about. When they started losing their farms because of government cutbacks and struggled to feed their families when the crops failed one season, Joseph told them what they wanted to hear and one by one they left me and joined him.”

Nathan arched an eyebrow and stared at the roman catholic priest incredulously. “Well if that aint a kick in the bollocks.” He muttered.

“I didn’t blame them, as their pastor I let them down. I did not see what was happening and I was punished for that. So, the men and women at Eden’s Gate, they were my congregation, the disillusioned who, as you say, love Joseph with all they are and will die for him. Those who now try to kill us or drug us into their fathers belief were once those I married or christened their children, its hard sometimes to separate what they were to what they are now.”

Nathan got up and cricked his neck, he rested a hand on Jerome’s shoulder, “There is going to be only one outcome to this Jerome, you know that and I know that and I think Joseph Seed knows that too. I don’t know what he thinks this collapse is, but if he keeps ramming on about collapsing seals and the end of the world, how many more people are going to believe him?”

Jerome watched the deputy walk out the ruined church and looked back to the lantern then up at the cross. “Too many,” he whispered to himself.

** Hope County Jail, The Henbane, Hope County, Montana. **

Earl Whitehorse was an old man; he had seen everything from military service to big city police service before moving back to his home town and becoming their sheriff. One Divorce and a heart attack later, he had tried to always take the diplomatic approach to things. Well he tried, but Federal warrant waving US Marshal Cameron Burke turned that into a shitstorm quick.

He had been swimming in the river for ages, the bliss that had been poured into the Henbane River had almost taken a full hold on him, until he was pulled out by Virgil and Tracy Lader, if it were not for them he would have been dead or lost in that bliss induced reality that would have turned him into a mindless zombie the cult and everyone else, called Angels.

He swung his legs out of his bunk and looked up to see the coffee mug before his eyes. “Managed to get a decent hit of coffee on the last supply run.” The neutral toned voice of Tracy Lader told him. Earl took the mug, sipped it and closed his eyes.

“Damn good coffee and hot.” He muttered “The water?”

“Managed to find a whole stack of bottled water, we brough that back and used it, since those bastards poisoned the water supply around the county….” Her voice trailed off and Earl didn’t need to know anymore on that. “We found Nancy.” Tracy told him “She drove her truck into one of the other deputies cars who had been sent to look for you all and the Marshal.”

Earl heaved a sigh, he had heard Nancy’s voice before he had escaped, she had been with the Father all along, well he didn’t see that one coming, did he? Whitehorse had never interfered in anyone’s religious beliefs, preferring to remain outside the discussion on things like that. It just sucked that his own officers had stabbed him in the balls on this. It also meant that even when they had not been heard from, Nancy would never have made that call to the National Guard.

Mary May had warned him that the cult owned the police, he didn’t believe her, hell he did now. In the couple of days since he had woken up, Virgil and Tracy had told him that the prisoners had been released and were now those walking corpses the cult revered as Angels. When he had asked what the hell they were, Tracy had told him they were bliss addicts, their brains were gone and they lived only for the bliss. They were docile enough until you attacked them or attacked a cult handler. Then they became violent and hard to kill. When she had told him, you had to shoot them in the head, Earl started laughing.

Until that is he saw it first hand, when they attacked the prison a day ago and indeed it was only a shot to the head that put them down. It was enough to make him want to start smoking again.

“Any word on that idiot Marshal who started all this shit?” Earl asked running a hand through his thinning hair and fingering the rim of his hat.

“He’s saying it was the rookie deputy’s fault and he acted against orders.” Tracy shrugged “I don’t know if that’s true Sheriff, but what I do know is she’s got him now.”

“That’s bullshit!” Earl got to his feet “Lemme see this shit spouting city boy!”

Tracy motioned with her head and led Earl to the only working TV. He stood glaring at the screen as Burkes words spilled from his mouth. “That…that is bollocks!” Earl raged “Nates a rookie, he’s ex-military he wouldn’t disobey a direct order from me and he certainly wouldn’t put people in danger, sonofabitch.”

“Sheriff, the only reason he is saying that is because its what Faith wants him to say.” Virgil told him, while fussing about a cougar badge. Earl rolled his eyes and took the badge and put it on, better to wear it then have the former mayor on his ass all day.

“That’s beside the point. I told him to stand down, to not repeat not enflame the situation. He just wanted to get his name in the goddamn fucking papers.” Earl snarled and sat down heaving a sigh.

“Well your rookie seems to be stirring all kinds of shit in Holland Valley.” Tracy rubbed her nose. “Blew up an outpost or two, liberated Falls End, came over here and rescued Adie and her boy toy. He’s getting their attention alright.”

Earl turned his head and gave the dark-skinned woman a stare “My Rookie’s doing that?” She nodded and a sly grin crossed his face “We got a CB up and running, I wanna talk to mad old Dutch.”


	3. Family

**_“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne”_ **

**_Revelation 3:20_ **

****

The room was decorated with pictures of the Seed family. Writing on the walls in neat script of every verse from the bible that could be written. Armed cult member stood outside the door and they only stood aside as the heralds of the father made their way into the room. His most trusted Lieutenants.

Jacob Seed was the second in command of Eden’s Gate. He ran the security and trained the military arm of the cult. At 47 he was the oldest and he had an illustrious history, a former member of the elite 82nd Airborne Division, a veteran of the first Gulf war. He carried himself with an air of confidence and authority that could not be denied. His people respected him deeply, all warriors, all prepared to sacrifice for the cause. Jacob took his job seriously enough, he had little time for John’s sadism, preferring to use more subtle methods to get what he wanted, and he pitied Faith, if he felt anything for her no one knew, she was not the first to have carried that name, but she was certainly the more devout, and she had done a good job along the Henbane Valley. Jacob was a very fit man, with red hair, blue eyes, and a red beard. He was covered in blood and had some scarring on his arms and face. He wore an Iraq war era army jacket, with his name J. Seed on it. He also wore multiple necklaces that consist of his dog tags, what seems to be two chimes, and a lucky rabbit's foot. Under this, he wore a stained and tattered grey shirt, with dirty jeans, and army or hiking boots. He took his large serrated military knife and glancing at his siblings he picked under his fingernails with the tip of the blade, before cleaning it and putting it back in its sheath at his side. His leg holster was on show and the gun snuggled inside was withing easy reach of his hand.

Jacob listened to the cult members gush about the father and lit a cigar. Unlike John and Faith, Jacob did not for one moment believe that his younger brother heard the voice of God, that God did not and, if he even existed, would not talk to any human. He did, however believe that Joseph had received some portent visions. That was the reason he followed him and that reason alone. He had no real interest in the religious side of things, he just wanted to make sure that those who would come into the new world after the collapse, would be strong and fit. That was his motto, “Cull the herd.” He no longer believed that the strong should protect the weak, he believed that the weak were a hinderance, something that the strong would never need again. If humankind was to survive, then they needed to be strong and shed the alliances of old.

His own dark nature had, on more than one occasion, brought him into conflict with Joseph, but Jacob didn’t care. Joseph needed someone to be the naysayer, it kept his middle brother on his toes. He raised his gaze as the young woman swept into the room. She wore a long flowing white dress and had the look of an angel about her, but she was far from that and Jacob knew it.

A former drug addict by the name of Rachel Jessop, Faith was the newest member of the family, well in terms of how long the boys had been around anyway. He had to wonder if Faith was addicted to the Bliss herself, but he dismissed that idea, no good business sense came out of letting an addict deal with addicts. 

“Hello Jacob.” Faiths soft voice carried and he moved his head a little to let her kiss his cheek. Her brown hair flowed creating the illusion of some angelic persona.

Jacob did admire one thing about what Faith did. Her way of converting people into Angels meant that, the Whitetail Militia who gave him trouble had a hard time killing Angels because they recognised the faces of ones they had loved, family, friends or lovers. It was a masterstroke of psychological warfare. You can make a man or woman kill, but what happened when the enemy they faced, they had been loving or drinking with a few days before. He had to admire that one.

“Sister.” He greeted “How goes the Bliss production?”

“Very well, in fact you should be getting your next delievery within a couple of hours.”

“And your people know where to deliver?”

“I passed your instructions on, to the letter.” Faith acknowledged and sat herself down, picking the tea up and sipping it.

Faith may have come across as a sweet innocent angelic young woman, who liked to skip and dance and laugh, but she was far from it. Faith could manipulate anything and anyone to suit any situation she wanted. Truth with her was a matter of perspective. She might have been innocent once, but she was as far removed from that innocence now. Even her former best friend who now was a leading member of the Cougars, wanted her destroyed. She discarded past loyalties as one might discard old shoes, once they had served their purpose, however, she did not ever lie to her brothers, that would be a fate worse than death. 

She was wary around Jacob, and for good reason, it did not do to antagonise the eldest brother, his mentle state could be, fragile at best and she had seen what had happened to those who had upset Jacob. Joseph, she feared, there was so much power around Joseph that it was hard not to be swallowed by his natural charisma, hard not to be drawn to him and never want to leave his side. Yet there was a side to him that gave even Jacob pause at times. However, Faith had a strong bond with the younger brother, John. The two, it seemed were inseparable. Something that was evident when he walked into the room and she walked straight into his arms.

“John!” She cooed.

“Hello little angel.” John seed kissed the top of his sister head and tipped her chin up, stroking it gently before nodding at his older brother “Jacob.”

Jacob nodded and watched his well-dressed and suave brother sit himself down and accept the coffee he was given. “You caught that deputy yet?” he asked.

“Not yet.” John met his older brothers gaze “But I hear he’s upset you a bit too.”

“He hasn’t upset me.” Jacob corrected. “Take a lot more than that for him to upset me.”

John arched an eyebrow and sat himself across from his older brother “Must be fun for you though. He is ex-military, you can play your war games and see which one of you is the most tactical, that is if I don’t get his atonement before then.”

Jacob heaved a slightly irritated sigh. Let John have his dream, Jacob didn’t rise to his baiting, he loved his brother, but sometimes his little brother could be…self-centred and too self-absorbed. He didn’t answer, not because he didn’t have an answer but because at that moment their brother, the father himself walked into the room.

They all rose from their seats as Joseph Seed greeted them in the way he only reserved for his family. He rested his head against Johns and put his hand on the back of his neck, “Your converts have returned to Eden’s Gate. The more we convert brother, the more we save, save them from their sin.”

“That is my intention Joseph.” John quietly said, his demeanour of a few moments ago shrunk in the shadow of his charismatic brother.

“Just make sure that your anger at what is happening in Holland Valley doesn’t make your own Sin cloud your judgement.”

“Understood, Joseph.”

Jacob cocked his head a little, it was amazing how John had his own confidence diminished in the presence of Joseph. He understood that, of the three brothers, John had experienced the worst abuse. Slammed on the floor until he said yes to whatever they threw at him. It had dictated how he viewed life. A gifted lawyer, due to his, techniques, he had brought up most of Holland Valley and even the surrounding areas. What John didn’t know was that once he had been reunited with his brothers, Jacob went in search of the Duncan’s and…culled the herd.

He watched as Joseph took Faith by the shoulders and kissed her forehead “How goes the Bliss production little sister?”

“Better than even I could have hoped Joseph.” She glowed under his smile, but, like John, there was an underlying ripple of fear across her face. Jacob didn’t blame her, five women had bore the name of Faith before her, and he supposed she had to wonder if Joseph would replace her as he had the others, and if her body would be found in the sea of Bliss or broken on the road somewhere.

“and the Marshall?”

“He doesn’t want to leave.”

“He may have too. I might have need of him when it comes to dealing with his, comrades who escaped the helicopter.”

“Whatever you desire father.” Faith bowed her head. Joseph kissed her head again and turned to face Jacob.

Jacob met his gaze, the two brothers were like oil and water sometimes, their arguments were legendary. Jacob did not like the way this was going, he did not like the idea of culling the herd in the way that Joseph wanted. He did not want to let the weak into their sanctuary, it was survival of the fittest, after the collapse only the strong would survive and the weak would drag them down, like lead in a churning sea.

Joseph did not see it that way, he believed he could save everyone, admirable but flawed. It had caused many a heated argument between the two, but they did love each other. Joseph and John had found him on the streets, brought him home and given him purpose, for that, he did not force his own doctrine on the other heralds territory.

He rested his forehead against Joseph’s and allowed himself to be drawn into a hug before stepping back. “Your judges are well?” Joseph asked.

“They are coming along well. We tried the programme with Cougars and Bears but the Wolf is the best of them.”

Joseph nodded and reaching up undone his pony tail letting his hair fall to his shoulders. He was as handsome as his brothers, it was he that started Project Eden’s Gate, it was he that had brought the people together and, in his sermons, he had brought them together. A powerful orator he also had a gift maybe, for seeing what drove people, and what their deepest fears were, something Faith was also very good at. The people followed his heralds because it was the thing to do, they followed Joseph because they wanted to, they loved him and truly believed in what he said and what he stood for.

They loved him, and they would always love him. Joseph sat himself down and waited for the others to sit. “So, the deputy, the one who escaped and has been causing a, few problems for us. What do we know about him?”

“He’s English.” Faith clasped her hands together in front of her. “and ex-military.”

“Ex Royal Marine Commando.” John added.

“No such thing.” Jacob cut in and saw Joseph raise a quizzical eyebrow. “I was 82nd Airborne, we are never ex anything. It’s a state of mind and I have served alongside the Royal Marine Commandos; they may leave the service but they never leave the life.”

“You think you can bring him to us?” Joseph asked Jacob.

“It’ll not be easy but, I will do what I have done and it will be a task but I am up for it as are my people.”

“Then when the time comes brother, bring him into the fold. Before he destroys all we have built.”

“If he interferes in my work, then you can guarantee it.” Jacob sat back in his seat and gave John and Faith a slight smile “For now he is their problem.”

Joseph nodded “Of course.” He took the ledger from one of his acolytes and opened it up “Now lets see what we have and what we do next, our bunker constructions will continue as normal, and the people of Holland Valley, the Henbane and Whitetail will join us willingly or not but rest assured they will join us.”  
  



	4. The Soldier, the Wolf, the man called Jacob.

**_“Oh, oh lord, it’s just another day for you and me in paradise, oh, oh lord, its just another day for you, for you and me in paradise.”_ **

**_“Another Day in Paradise” – Phil Collins._ **

****

** Streets of Rome, Georgia, USA, a decade ago.  **

Anyone walking past cardboard city would not even realise that the majority of those here at the moment, were vets. Warriors of the American battles, forgotten and discarded. These were the men and women who had returned home to find the world so very difficult to deal with. Many suffered PTSD. Others just could not adjust to day to day life. 

Some of them had families somewhere, they had returned to their families, only for their experiences to drive them away from their loved ones, into a life of riding the tracks from one city to the next, and eventually to a homeless shelter, or a place like this. Huddled around burning trash cans to keep warm, relying on charity for food, and often booze or drugs.

In one part of the city a group of former Gulf War Vets looked up as one of their own returned. He put a bag down and crouched down. “Food and beer.” He grunted.

They didn’t ask where he had got it, it didn’t matter, to them Joe Seed was the one who made sure they saw it through another night. He made sure they were all fed first before taking his own portion, and, like in the wild, they made sure he had the largest portion. He provided for them, they thanked him.

Joseph took his food and his bottles and went and sat in his own corner. He ignored the looks of the passer-by’s, and if any did meet his gaze his hand strayed to the serrated blade that sat at his hip and the feral grin that curled his face made them look down wards and hurry on.

Joseph had, like the others here, been a hero, or supposedly anyway. He had served his country, turning from a troubled and angry young man into a killing machine. Thing is when he returned the world he had helped protect, no longer wanted him, especially if he had no money to pay for his own needs or his money ran out. So, whenever he saw things that promoted how well the US government, or any government for that matter, honoured their veteran’s, he just looked around him and laughed.

Jacob had always been a fighter, and he had carried the burden of being the eldest member of his family on his shoulders. Trying to protect his two brothers from thier alcoholic father, when it came to light that his youngest brother had been severely beaten all three of the boys were put in a foster home, they had not been treated better there, and Jacob, in a fit of rage burnt the whole farm down. After that, Jacob went into prison, John was adopted and Joseph went through the system. Jacob lost touch with them after that and when he was released from prison, he went into the army. Not just any branch of the army but the elite airborne Division. He was a world class sniper and this made his skills invaluable.

Jacob was a warrior, through and through and lived by the warrior code. As he ate his food, he stared into the milling throng across the street and knew that these people around him would do whatever it took to survive, just like him.

Jacob had killed his best friend when it became survival of the fittest, and eaten him to survive. Judging by some of the stories he had heard from this small family of his, and they were family, they had all been through the fires of war and survived when the weaker did not. They had not been shy in making the harder decisions if it meant they lived. He looked at two of them, Carlton and Rosie. Both in the same unit in Afghanistan. Like him, they were from troubled families. A group of insurgents had blown their comrades up fifteen miles from the nearest US held town. They had survived their comrades would not, knowing the enemy would be watching to see if any survived they lay under the dead bodies of their comrades for a day and night, and emerged covered in blood, piss and shit and hunted their units killers, killing them in the most brutal ways their fractured minds could concoct.

Returning to civilian life had not been kind to them, they tried holding down jobs, but the nightmares they had suffered as a result of their experiences and the fact they couldn’t tell reality from fiction anymore, meant they started drifting, town to town, city to city, taking the odd job with farmers to pay for a bed when the nights and weather got too bad to travel more. One night at a farm in Arkansas, the farmers son tried to force himself on Rosie, she killed him with a blow under his nose that pushed the bone into the brain, then her and Carlton walked through the farm house killing everyone inside. Setting fire to the place and left. They had been on the streets ever since. Jacob liked them and he would listen to them as they listened to him. They knew what he had to do to survive, and he knew what they had to do.

They were his eyes and ears in this small group of societies misfits so, when they saw two men, one older one younger make their way through the homeless city as some people called it, others called it less flattering names, handing out food and warm drinks to the others and speaking kindly to them, he got up and joined them.

“They been asking for you Joseph.” Rosie motioned with her head “The one with the rhinestone cowboy look.”

Jacob swallowed his beer and watched as one of the other vets, in one of the other groups stuck a needle into his arm and closed his eyes. Such a sight disgusted the more civilised folk, here it barely rated a eye blink. People took what they had to, to forget, or live the life they had before in their drug induced minds. Was the only place they felt safe.

Jacob folded two powerful arms across an equally powerful chest and waited. Eventually the two men came to them, passing out food and drinks. One of them was a well-dressed young man who wouldn’t look out of place in one of them high rise corporate buildings. He smelt of money, power and wealth, the sort of man you would not find down here in a million years. Yet there was something familiar about him, despite the expensive suit, sun glasses that sat on the top of his head and a well-groomed beard, but it was the eyes, eyes that had seen too much abuse and inflicted an excruciating amount of pain. 

They stood, all three looking at each other, sizing each other up maybe, until the rhinestone cowboy put his hands either side of Jacobs’ face. “Jacob, oh Jacob, I have looked for you for months brother.”

Jacob arched an eyebrow but, surprisingly, he did not break arms or necks for touching him, instead he put his hands on the other mans hands and lent in until his forehead touched his “Joseph” he whispered “and this….”

“Hello big brother” John smiled and mirrored his brothers image when Joseph let him near “Been a while.”

“Hmm.” Jacob stepped back “So, what brings you looking for me?”

Anyone else would have been overjoyed to see their brothers after all this time, but Jacob had buried and got rid of his emotional attachments years ago. Now he didn’t really know how he should react.

“Its time to take you home Jacob.” Joseph told him, resting his hand on his shoulder “We can be a family again.”

“I have a family.” Jacob motioned to his small group. “I am not leaving them.”

“Bring them with you brother, all will be welcome, all will be family at Eden’s Gate.” Joseph smiled wide and stepped back “They will the first to join us. Come I have beds and food and warmth and help for those who need it. The drive will be long but we will do what we have to until we get there.”

“Where?” Jacob wanted to know.

“Hope County Montana.” John told him “I have brought some land there and its ours.”

Jacob looked from one to the other then to his people who had joined him. He saw their faces, the toll this life was taking on a couple of them, they deserved a chance to cleanse their souls and Joseph had changed, there was, something different about him. Something that made it compelling to follow him, although that broke every rule in Jacobs book.

“Alright, you explain things to me Joseph and I’ll let you know if I am coming.”

“This way brother,” Joseph led him to a parked SUV and the two men began to talk.

Rosie watched carefully. At first Jacob was having none of it, the way his arms moved in scorn at his younger brother, but this Joseph was calm and patient. He let Jacob scoff at the revelation god had spoken to him,

“It is true Jacob; God has spoken to me.”

“I think you got your hands in whatever daddy was drinking at the time.” Jacob snarled “God spoke to you and warned you of what? Some great catastrophe?”

“Yes, its called the collapse and I have seen it in visions brother.”

It was clear to anyone that Jacob did not believe god had spoken to his brother, he did, however believe that Jacob had, seen things. He always did have a knack for seeing things that would come to pass. Their drunk bastard father seemed to think Joseph was possessed, it was one of many reasons that Jacob ended up defending his brothers although to be honest, It was always John who got it the worse, and Jacob couldn’t always be there to stop it.

“Let me talk to my brothers and sisters,” Jacob began to walk back towards the small group, casting a look back over his shoulder every now and then.

He told them what Joseph wanted, that any of his family with drug or booze addiction could be helped to get clean, they would be fed, have warm beds and a roof over their heads, they didn’t have to go but, Jacob was going. It was enough and after fifteen minuets Jacob returned to his brother.

“Time to go then.”

Jacob would oversee his families, cleansing, he would take them with him to the Whitetail mountains and they would remain his staunchest lieutenants. The only ones he knew would not betray him and would be the strongest to protect Eden’s Gate.


	5. The Confessor, The Baptist, a man named John Seed

**_“You and all your entourage, to me you’re all the same. You and all your entourage, playing foolish games. I don’t want your big city shining, I don’t want your silver lining. I don’t want to be a tattooed millionaire.”_ **

**_“Tattooed Millionaire” by Bruce Dickenson._ **

****

** Atlanta, Georgia, Ten years ago.  **

****

He had come a long way, from being the son who was beaten so severely that it caused his family to be destroyed, to a prestigious post in a high-profile law company. On the outside John Seed, (woe betide anyone who ever called him John Duncan) seemed the icon of handsome lawyers. Suave, sophisticated, dripping with money. On the inside was a very different story.

Inside was a man who was broken. He enjoyed inflicting pain on others, be it psychological or emotional or even physical and the more they begged the more he did it. No one really knew his past, how he was beaten by his adoptive parents until he said yes to whatever sin they said he had committed. Years later Joseph would remember his brother as a boy who was loving, kind, gentle and full of the joys of life. Well, if he ever had been that was long gone now.

His lovers were vast, he was a considerate lover, until that is, he grew bored and when John Seed grew bored, then he experimented and that meant people got hurt and sometimes they even died. Especially when they refused him, then he came up with different ways of making them say Yes, and usually it was to beg for their lives.

Why should he care what they wanted? Their lives were dedicated to giving him what he wanted, he cared little about their desires or their needs, he didn’t give a damn if they could afford a meal the next day and most of his clientele consisted of big paying corporations who wanted land they could not ordinarily obtain through….legal means. Everyone knew that John Seed was the man to go to if they wanted to get what they wanted and no questions asked. For such a service, he usually charged a staggering amount of money, it was the very least the world owed him for what it had done to him when he was a boy.

If John Seed were to sit in a councillor chair he would probably come across as charming, well balanced and a productive member of society, for one of his skills was how to play the game of psychology and win. He had a knack of swaying people to his opinion, wether they understood it or not, such was his skill in the art. He had not yet met anyone who could match him in the game of psychological warfare. Until that is the day Joseph walked back into his life.

As the youngest of the Seed brothers, it was generally understood that John would not remember his two older brothers. He might not have remembered much about them, but he did remember their names. He had gone across the street to a coffee shop that he frequented and was sitting inside with his latte and a croissant, reading a newspaper. His newspaper was dipped down and, for a moment John considered throwing the bum out on his ass for daring to invade his space.

“Who the fuck is you?” He snarled.

“Your salvation.” The stranger whispered matter of factly.

Johns lips curled in a cruel smile, “Take your god loving ass and go beg on the street for your next meal, see if god will listen then.” John got his wallet out and chucked a dollar at the stranger “Better yet get your hair cut at one of them five and dime barbers.”

He picked his paper up and flicked it before returning his attention to the page he had been reading.

“Did the Duncan’s beat every compassionate bone out of you John?”

John narrowed his eyes and lowered his paper. “You know nothing of me.” He dangerously said “and I don’t know who you think you are to think you know me so well. Leave before I break your fucking legs.”  
  


To show his disdain, he returned to reading the paper, but, much to his growing annoyance the stranger, merely gave him his dollar back, opened his own wallet that was brimming with bills and ordered his own coffee, then sat right across from him, this time taking the paper out of his hands and tossing it to one side.

“It matter not John, I will guide you back to the light, I will absolve you of your sloth nature, I will cleanse you of your sin, and you will help me cleanse the others, for god has shown me your role in this world and the next to come.” He thanked the young lady who gave him his coffee and sipped it. “Has the life of the idle rich changed you so much John Seed that you do not even recognise your own brother?”

John was about to show this tosser the door when he stopped. Peering closer he reached out and removed the sunglasses and sat back, his eyes roaming the face before him. A face he had all but forgotten, “Joseph?” he whispered, “No, no they Joseph was dead, killed in prison like our fucking father.”

“I am not dead John, god knows I should have been many a time, but I am not. I have purpose now as will you. Once we find Jacob.”

“Jacob? Jacobs alive too?” John ran his hands through his well-groomed hair and shook his head “No, no, no why? Why did you leave me with them? If you have been alive all this time why didn’t you come for me? Why did you leave me with them!” He ranted now.

If his brother knew all about his adoptive parents, then why the hell didn’t he come and get him from that hell he lived. Joseph let him carry on, he had a right to be angry and, to be honest Joseph didn’t know how to answer him. He could have gone looking for him but in his current anger fuelled rant, he wouldn’t listen to the fact that god had a plan. For all of them, all they had to do was find Jacob.

“John…JOHN!” he raised his voice a little and his little brother shut up but still glared harshly at Joseph. “I can’t change the past, I wish I could, I wish Jacob and I were there that day to stop or worthless father from beating you so bad they separated us.” His voice softened a little, and as angry as John was, he couldn’t help but listen.

“And what are you going to do when you find Jacob?” He asked.

Joseph reached out and rested a hand on his brothers shoulder. “You’re a lawyer John, I can use that and when we are ready, then we will help others, for the Collapse will come, god has shown me and commanded I build arks, arks for those who wish to be saved and you my brother will cleanse them off their sins.”

It took some convincing on Joseph’s part, John thought, at first that his brother had gone mad, but as he began to explain what his plan was, what gods plan was he listened intently.

Now ten years on he had brought up a lot of the farms in Holland Valley, his skills as a lawyer invaluable in keeping the law away from the activities of his brothers. It was also invaluable when it came to buying up the land the cult needed, and when people wanted to convert then his task as the Baptist ensured they entered Eden’s Gate cleansed of sin.

He ensured that Jacob got what he needed to ensure the security of the project, and when Joseph brought the latest Faith into the fold, he made sure she had the facilities she needed to create and distribute the Bliss. Words from Joseph about loving his people fell on deaf ears. John, in his broken way believed that to love his people he had to make sure their sins were gone, he would brand them with a tattoo then cut it away once they said Yes, and that became his mantra. The path to atonement would be reached with but one word, Yes.

He didn’t stop to wonder what anyone would think of a deranged serial killer being a cleanser of sin. Then again, he was not the first and he would not be the last. He walked into the cell area and walked around his remaining captives. Crouching down a cruel smile crossed his lips.

“Its time for a little chat Joey” He sighed and Joey Hudson began to shake.


	6. The Mother, The Siren, a woman named Faith Seed

**_“Like his dad you know that he's had, Animal nitrate in mind, Oh, in your council home he jumped on your bones, Now, you're taking it time after time.”_ **

**_“Animal Nitrate” by Suede._ **

** Hope County, Montana, five years ago. **

“You are fucking crazy Rachel!” Tracy hissed out the corner of her mouth, “This is not what we thought it was going to be, sure the foods ok and the people are a little off but, I do not want to spend the rest of my days listening about the end of the fucking world.”

Rachel Jessop sighed and pushed her long brown locks out of her face, “Its not like that Tracy, all you have to do is listen you know, there has to be something more than getting stoned or waiting for the next hit.”

Tracy shook her head “That last place we were at was just fine, this is not what I thought it would be when I heard about it.” She picked up her backpack with all she had in the world and, in a gesture of friendship, maybe the only one Rachel really had she motioned with her “Something is not right about this Eden’s Gate Rach, come on, come with me and we’ll get out of Hope County and out of this damned hell of a state and go somewhere else. LA, Nevada wherever.”

Rachel looked at the hand that implored her to come with, and shook her head. “Joseph has cured me of my addiction Tracy, he can do the same for you.”

Tracy lowered her hand, her dark skin glowering with her anger at her friends naivety and shook her head. She stood by the doorway “One of these days Rachel, you are going to have to learn to fight, appeasing people and trying to be nice to everyone got you into the mess you were in.”

“Maybe I will” Rachel nodded “but it won’t be today. Joseph is preparing his sermon and I want to be there.”

Tracy shook her head, her hair moving wildly to signify her anger. With a cold glare she put her pack on her shoulder and stormed out the gates. Joseph joined Rachels side and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“She will return,” he quietly said with the confidence of one who knew what he said would come to pass.

“I doubt it father.” Rachel replied, “This is not what she is looking for.”

Joseph didn’t answer, instead he told her to come with him. That afternoon, Rachel Jessop died and, in her place, rose Faith Seed, adopted sister of the Seed brothers.

Rachel had a troubled past. As Tracy would explain to the sheriff when she found him, and again to Rook when she met him, she was a nice kid, but too nice. She would always try to see the good in people, even when people weren’t that good. Her parents weren’t that great to her, especially her father who made secret visits to her room at night. Her mother found her to be nothing more than a hinderance and with the beatings she took from so called friends and enemies, the solace she found was at the tip of a needle into her vein. Over time she learnt how to manipulate people to get what she wanted. The childlike innocence she portrayed was a mask, and deep down was a woman who was a liar and a manipulator, there was nothing remotely innocent about her, and it had made her perfect for Joseph to mould into the icon of faith and devotion.

Faith was close to John; he was somewhat overprotective of her and felt a kinship with the young woman. Jacob welcomed her and, like John cared for her, but he wondered how long it would be before she made the mistake that would see her dead and someone else become Faith Seed. To Joseph she was the most devout and saw his plans to save people from the collapse as the only viable way.

Her past with drugs made her the perfect candidate to oversee the Bliss fields. When she moved into the Henbane River bunker, she worked hard to perfect the Angel process, something that John remarked was a fate worse than anything he could come up with.

Faith took those brought to her and at first used mind games to get them to walk the path, take the pilgrimage, if that proved unsuccessful then she exposed them to vast amounts of Bliss until all that remained was an unwavering loyalty to Faith and her brothers.

Now she stood looking over her fields, her arms folded across her chest as the angels worked, her gaze seemingly on the fields, but they were on the prison. The cougars as they called themselves, used the prison as a base of operations. Several weeks ago, she had orchestrated the release of the prisoners, only for them to become angels. She aimed to destroy the cougars and, she aimed to bring Tracy back to her, back to the family, it was where she belonged, with her, with her brothers.

“The Marshal is ready for you Faith.” One of her blessed inclined his head.

“Good, lets see how much further I can push Burke into drawing this Deputy out.”

She didn’t care about Cameron Burke, he was a tool to be used and when he was ready, she would send him back to his friends, only for him to send them to her. It was important for prospective converts to see her as childlike, friendly and amenable, wanting to be their friends. When it worked without the need for, further measures, those people then relocated to her bunker as part of the Eden’s Gate family, those who didn’t and needed more, persuasive measures became the workforce for the Seeds, the Angels and they were respected, almost honoured in ways that they had not been in their previous lives. Of course, their conversion, like those that were held by John or Jacob was never smooth. Once they had become Angels, she had their tongues removed. Her true nature was as dark as everyone else in her adoptive family, but everything she did, she did for Joseph and that alone made her the perfect incarnation of Faith. A role she had moved into and one she wanted to keep.


	7. The Father, the voice a man call Joseph Seed

**_“Take second best, put me to the test, Things on your chest, you need to confess, I will deliver, you know I'm a forgiver”_ **

**_“Personal Jesus”, by Depeche Mode._ **

****

Joseph Seed, the second son, and the more charismatic of the Seed siblings, life had not always been so easy for the man. Whilst his older brother found his way in the US Army, becoming the best that he could, his younger brother had been adopted into a wealthy family, and he himself had become a wealthy man. Despite all that happened to him, John would be a valuable member of the community. His knowledge of the law would give him what he desired, Jacobs knowledge of the military would give him the security and defence he wanted for the people who would join his cause.

Joseph had always been, strange, to those around him at any rate. He had been receiving visions since he was a teenager, it might have been a result of his fathers beatings, rewiring his brain and such like, but he preferred the other option. The fact that god had chosen him for some great purpose, was the thing that steered him onwards, to ignore the strange looks he got, the comments he received concerning the state of his mental health or that he should go back to the bible belt and speak to those who want to hear his crackpot notions. He had been homeless, squatted in places and taken jobs that, whilst others wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot barge pole, gave him a far better insight into human nature than any teacher could teach him.

He did what he had to do to survive the streets of Atlanta. It geared him to be stronger and more resilient, more than any battlefield Jacob had been on, or any courtroom battles that John had been in. He was able to use this, to gain followers in smaller quantities, of course building a future did not come without a cost, and, whilst nothing was ever proven, the suspicions of the authorities were such that they were moved on, but never without new followers.

Eventually they found themselves here, in Hope County. With Johns legal smarts they were able to buy up some of the farms here. Joseph had always been careful not to voice his views, not yet anyway. The secret of Eden’s Gate remained with those who resided there. Who believed in him and his visions? It wasn’t long before he was named the Father, not a title he would have bestowed upon himself, for he never proclaimed himself to be anything but a man doing gods work. He would never call himself the son of god, for that was just insulting, but, he did believe he was a shepherd, a man destined with the power of the visions and to build a safe haven for his people and those around him, as the Collapse came upon them all, and it would come for god had shown him the way.

The tattoos represented something infinitely more personal to him, but the seven deadly sins, carved into his skin with a razor blade, was a stark reminder that he too, like his siblings, was knowledgeable of sin. Joseph would often think back to a time when he married and had a young daughter, a daughter he killed to prove to god that he was willing to lose something or someone he loved, to sere the lord to the best of his ability. If the act of murdering is own child sat on his soul and his conscience, no one would ever be able to tell, for Joseph Seed was the perfect poker player.

He started by sitting beside Father Jerome, learning from him, discussing and debating the finer points of religion, then watched as the church faltered in explanations to its followers and he swooped in like some great bird of prey to take away the people from their pastor to him. It had worked and he had started the slow take over of Hope County, to see the people safe from the Collapse, whether they believed him or not.

The church in Falls End used to sing with the voices of the faithful, Jerome’s voice would be raised in homage to the lord. But more and more those voices fell silent. Farmers disillusioned with the priests answers to their questions about falling crop prices or failing crops. Joseph gave them some hope and Jerome did not.

Jerome was standing at his lectern, waiting for his parishioners, eventually he took to sitting on the raised level and closed his eyes. He heard the footsteps and knew who it was, before even looking up.

“Come to gloat, Joseph?” he quietly asked.

“Gloat? About what Jerome?” Joseph stopped walking and sat across from the Catholic priest, his legs crossed and one arm resting on the back of the pew. “You are a very good preacher, I was, captivated by your passion the first time I heard your voice. You would make a killing on those TV ministry shows.” J saw the glower from Jerome and raised his hands “But I did not come here to insult you, for you have a pure heart Jerome, not one that is beset by greed or the need to fuck.”

“Oh, I did more than my fair share of…fucking when I was in the army Joseph.” Jerome sat forward looking around at the empty pews, it had been like that for a few Sundays now. “It’s empty now, what did you promise them?”

“Answers, maybe not the ones they want. I can’t tell them their crops will succeed; I can’t tell them that the crop prices will rise for that is not in my purview. I just tell them that it is the way of the world, in the terms of crop failure that is the will of nature, in the terms of prices that is the will of greedy politicians.”

Jerome couldn’t argue with that, the current climate right now, Joseph was not wrong. He might not like it, but Joseph was not wrong.

“You could join us. When the Collapse comes, the people will need your, powerful voice.”

Jerome arched an eyebrow and turned his gaze onto Joseph. “I am not in the habit of following doom prophets.” Jerome cocked his head a little, maybe a little weary at what he had come to see as the failings of his own church that led to his flock going to another, but he still had his bite. “I have never once ridiculed your beliefs Joseph, when you told me of your visions and how you believed they were from god, did I ever intermate a disbelief in it?”

“No, no your did not.”

“Did I ever once tell you; you were lying? I learnt a long time ago how to tell the truth from a lie Joseph, I find you a little extreme but I believe you, or at least I believe that you believe its true.”

“I cannot change what I have seen.” Joseph evenly said “The Collapse will come, wether its tomorrow, next month, next year or ten years, it is coming Jerome and I would hate to see you and the residents of this beautiful county caught in the fires that will rage across the world.”

Jerome rose to his feet and hopped onto the podium before standing behind the lecturn, he closed his bible and tucked it under his arm. “Go in peace Joseph, look after those who have decided to follow you, but remember that not everyone sees things the way you do. You cannot force someone to follow you otherwise you’ll end up like another Waco or many other communes who have failed the people who believed in their leader.”

Joseph had watched Jerome leave at that point and had remained in the small church for some time, before leaving. Of course he tried to prove he was nothing like those other prophets, those who had been self-proclaimed sons of God, he was a prophet yes, a herald for something dark and dangerous but which would ultimately be beautiful, but he was not a son of god, a conduit for his message would be a better way of looking at it.

Now though things had changed, and not for the better. He had ordered the beginning of the Reaping, bringing in whatever was needed for them all to survive and he would drag the residents of Hope County into the arks even if it killed him to do it. They would learn that Eden’s Gate was the only way for them to go forward, to reclaim the world once it had healed, and if he had to kill that damn deputy Nathan Rook then by the lords grace he would do that.


	8. Time to get Joey

**_“Hello darkness my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again. Because a vision softly creeping. Left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound of silence”_ **

**_“The sound of silence” by Simon and Garfunkel_ **

Nate came down from his room doing his cuffs up to see his friends sitting round one of the lounge seats with beer and snacks between them, not to mention a big old map of the area. He felt Mary Mays hand squeeze his as he walked past and joined his friends.

“So, we’re going after Joey then?” Rook picked up a beer that Addie passed him and grabbed a handful of nuts from the bowl.

“She’s been in there long enough.” Grace pointedly said “we need to get her out, before that maniac does to her what he did to the others we seen hanging from lampposts.”

“Yeah those two kids we found…well my lunch went down the drain quicker than it went in.” Hurk groaned which made his mama pat his hand a little comforting.

Hurk may not have liked his mama’s boy toy but he loved his mama and respected her choice. When he had first met Hurk, Rook thought there was something about the guy, ok he was loud, he was obnoxious but not to the extent of his father, and above all he was a fighter, and when you considered that he had been in some of the worlds most troubled hotspots as a fighter for hire and come through it with his skin intact, well, guy had to have some more about him then what his father always said he didn’t.

Sometimes the guys who did not crow about what they had done were the ones to watch. Hurk had some tattoos on him, commemorating the heroes he had worked with, in his opinion. He had shared with Nathan his exploits in a land of pirates and the land of Kyrat. That had surprised the brit no end, and it had given him a new respect for the rocket launching maniac.

“So how we gonna get in there?” Sharky asked. “That place is locked up tighter than a nun’s private parts.”

That got him a smack from Jess Parker but, the Deputy had noticed she was not as vehement as she had been in the past to him. A little thawing going on there maybe? He hoped so, Sharky seemed to calm down around Jess, and she didn’t seem so, caustic around him.

They all looked at Rook when Sharky asked the hows and wherefores. He pulled the street map over and looked at it for a while. “Grace, reckon you can find a perch around here that will give you clear sight lines but not let them see you?”

Grace looked at the map and studied it for a moment. “Yeah, yeah, I can do that, theres a mountain ridge, it’s a blindside for them, but perfect for me, my daddy used to take me up there hunting when I was a girl. Target practise he called it, waste of time I said but, it taught me how to shoot.”

“Ok, you cover there. Nick, I want you and Adie giving me air support, take out whatever Peggie road blocks there are between here and the bunker and take out their damn planes while youre at it.”

“You got it Rook.” Nick finished his pint and got up “Adie you wanna come back with me, we can go over a flight plan while Rook briefs everyone else.”

“Oh, you got it handsome ass.” Adie got up and winked at Kim, to show she was only teasing and had no intentions or designs towards her man.

“Both of you be careful.” Kim stroked the head of her baby.

“You bet darlin.” Nick kissed her and bending his head kissed his baby girl. Rook watched him for a moment, a wry smile crossing his face. For a man who was adamant he was going to have a son, he had become totally enamoured with the little bundle of girl that was laying in her mothers arms right now. Even Grace had warmed to the little lady, as had they all come to think of it.

Carmine had, it seemed quite a few uncles and aunties to watch over her.

“We are going to kill him, right?” Jess asked waving as Adie and Nick walked out talking.

“Our priority is getting Joey out.” Rook reminded them, “If the wanker is there then on his head be it, I want Joey out and the people they trapped in there. Do what you have to do but don’t loose sight of the mission.”

“What about Peaches and Boomer?” Hurk asked “Oh and don’t forget Cheeseburger, where is that damn bear anyway?”

“Oh, he met some lady bear a few days ago.” Sharky told his cousin “we not seen him for a few days”

“Lucky sonofabitch, least he’s getting some.” Hurk shook his head.

“He’s ok.” Mary May called over from the bar “I have a couple of the boys and girls making sure none of that psycho Jacobs people try and catch him again. Oh Nate,” Rook looked up “You’re wanted on the CB, Dutch”

“Uncle Dutch, tell him to get his eyes on the bunker would you Rook?” Jess implored then went back to studying the map with Grace, Hurk and Sharky.

Rook took the handset and spoke into it, when he asked what Dutch wanted and was about to pass on Jess’s message, his surprise when not Dutch but the Sheriffs voice came over the radio was evident.

“Damn Rook, you been causing a stir down there?”

“Sheriff?” Rook stood straighter “You’re alive?”

“Just about. Been hearing how you are tearing shit up boy, this true?”

“Just keeping the people here safe from the lunatics Sheriff, because you know, the lunatics got let out the asylum.”

He heard a chuckle on the other end and then heard some muffeled voices and finally the sheriff came back on. “Nate, when you’re here next, you get yer ass to the prison, we need some help too. Need to stop Burke.”

“Oh you mean the guy who decided I was to blame for everthing?”

“Yeah him, we have some theories on it, but nothing I wanna talk about over this. So see you soon?”

“Yeah soon Sheriff, gotta go have to go get a friend out of some trouble.”

“Well good luck with that. Hope they appreciate the trouble you’re getting into”

“Yeah I hope so too. Over and out.” Nate set the handset down and drew Mary into his arms. “I’ll be back in a few hours any chance we can borrow the Widowmaker?”

“Sure, hunni you can borrow her on one condition?”

“Name it.”

“If you aren’t driving her, then let Jess drive. Please?”

Rook chuckled a little and nodded. He was about to leave when Mary May caught his arm and in full view of the patrons planted a long deep kiss on his mouth, that spoke of a promise for later when he came back.

“Boomer, you and Peaches stay here,” The animals looked at their master “I mean it protect the town with the pastor and mama over there.” He took Mary and Jerome to one side. “You know that the moment we do this, then all hell is going to descend on this town right?” He warned them “Get everyone armed up, on top of the roofs use the machine guns and just damn well fire, get the kids down into a bunker and their mums, Kim you too with Carmine, once we go in theres no going back John will either fight or run, I am hoping he runs then I can arrest his ass and throw him in what left of the county jail…more like in the bunker and lock him in.”

“You want to arrest him?” Jerome frowned.

“I wanna arrest them all, I want them to go to jail for all this, and Burke…. I’ll drop his sorry ass out a helicopter for starting all this.”

“They might not want to be arrested.”

“Then that Padre, is on them innit. See yer later Pet.” He kissed Mary’s cheek and shook Jerome’s hand. “Hopefully when we come back, we’ll have Joey Hudson with us.” He took the keys for the Windowmaker and tossed them to Jess.

“Aw is that the keys to the Widowmaker?” Sharky asked “OH Lemme drive Rook, please!”

“Marys orders mate, Jess drives.”

“Oh no, no come on Dep…I’ll look after her, it’s the Widowmaker come on…oh shoot!”

Rook shot Grace an amused look as Sharky carried on trying to plead with Jess to let him drive, Jess climbed into the drivers cab and Sharky got in next to her.

“Ok then, I got shotgun.”

“Sure, but I driving still.” Jess enforced and started the engine. “Come on guys, why let Adie and Nick have all the fun, its time to go get our Joey.”

Hurk chuckled and climbed in the back with Grace beside him, Nate was the last in and tapping Jess’s shoulder he told her to drive. “and if you come across the road blocks…Sharky use the widows guns and blow them off the road.”

“Oh, you got it Dep, you sure as hell got it.”

Nate settled back in his seat and closed his eyes. To centre himself and find the soldier within once more. There was a fight coming and he sure as hell knew that John Seed would be fighting for what he believed in, and fighting religious maniacs was something he was used too. It had been several years but he fell back into his army training as sure as he had never left it. 

Nick and Adie flew together then peeled off, “Carmine” went high and “Tulip” went low, the two aircraft strafed the airfield near John Seeds home destroying the planes and shooting down any that were about to take off. They circled around and found the Widowmaker making her way towards the bunker and followed.

Deep inside the bunker, several floors below the main floor, John Seed was sat across from a weary and, thought she hated to admit it, terrified Joey Hudson. For the last hour he had just sat there, staring at her, his eyes not moving from her tear stained face, twirling his tattoo pen in his fingers like some bizarre majorette.

“I am trying,” He finally said with a heavy sigh “to figure out what your sin is.”

Joey didn’t say anything, not that she could, because her mouth was taped up. It meant he did not want her to say anything unless it was that word. The word that would fire him up and get him going more than some night with a hooker.

“You are not a greedy person Joey; I can call you Joey, right? I feel like we’ve got to know each other so well.” He took her silence as acquiesce “I have lived here some time now, and I have never seen you be lazy or greedy or angry or even covert another person’s partner…you are the sort of person The Father would want with him.”

He tapped his hand on the table before putting his pen down, getting up he walked over and carefully removed the tape from her mouth. Joey, wisely perhaps, said nothing, she was not about to give him any ammunition to go raving about the end of the world. What kicked her in the teeth the most was that Joseph had come down to see them and watched as John had tortured them, he had just watched and their pleas for mercy had fallen on deaf ears.

She was the only one left now, the others were either dead or moved up to the Edengate compound. John had not wanted to let her go. She was his plaything; his toy and he didn’t want to let go of that anytime soon.

“Tell me, Joey, what were your parents like?”

John crouched down in front of her and wiped her eyes with a tissue and then sat back down across from her. His features softer now.

“No one special to anyone but me.” She muttered.

“Did they love you?” She nodded “Did they bring you up to believe in god, the holy son and holy mother…I ask because I see the crucifix on your neck.”

“Yeah they did.”

“Devout?” She nodded again. John sat back in his seat and began to draw a line in the dust on the table with his fingers. “My parents would…. beat me until the sin came out of me, I learnt that Yes was a very powerful word. My adoptive parents to be exact, believed there was something wrong with me and that every time I spoke it was lies.” He gave a quick smile faded as soon as it appeared. “But in that time, I learnt just how, freeing the word Yes could be. It can be freeing for someone full of sin, but I suspect if your job was a sin, then you’d be guilty. However, I can’t seem to pinpoint anything on you that would need the power of Yes.” He shook his head, a scowl deepening his handsome face.

He was about to ask another question when one of his people, a woman named Rachel came skidding along the corridor and almost jumped the stairs. “What is it?” John demanded, annoyed by the intrusion.

“The airfields been attacked and the Widowmaker has just blown the guards upstairs away. The bunker is under attack.” Rachel told him.

“By who?” John got up and picked up his gun.

“The Deputy and his friends.”

“Watch her, she does not escape, I will deal with this, personally.” John snarled and took the stairs two at a time. Rachel closed her eyes muttered a prayer to the Father, and Joey suspected it was not almighty God but the father of this insane cult.


	9. Into the den of the Confessor

**_“Taught by the powers that preach over me, I can hear their empty reason, I wouldn’t listen I learnt how to fight, I opened up my mind to treason.”_ **

**_“Shot in the dark” by Ozzy Osbourne_ **

The gunfire that came at the cult seemed to come from the air as well as the ground, and once fuel cannisters exploded outside the bunker it became apparent that the attackers had ground air support as well. John was not happy, not happy at all, he was close, this close to getting Joey to say the immortal words “yes” now, now it was ruined.

He was angry too and when John got angry, everyone knew about it. Grabbing people, the cult had taken over the last few days he threw them out, some of them into the line of fire others he threw down the stairs. Did these people not realise they were trying to save them? With a snarl he loaded up his shotgun and led the charge to where the Deputy and his rag tag bunch of sinners were fighting.

Nate did not want this to become a room to room fight, however, what he wanted and what he got, were inevitable two different things altogether and a room to room fight it became. Jerome had reinforcements sent up and they were dealing with the Peggies outside. He cursed under his breath as he ducked down behind some oil drums, a shot narrowly avoiding his shoulder. He glared at Hurk and told him not to use that rocket launcher of his, not under any circumstances.

“Aww Dep, come on man I like the boom, boom” Hurk pouted.

“You might like it Hurk, but I sure as shit do not want to end caught in the tail wind of an explosion down here, you know they are storing explosives here, right?” Nate insisted and when he heard Hurk mutter under his breath, he knew he had made his point. He directed the others where to go and, with Sharky and Jess either side of him, Hurk behind him, loading up his shotgun, he ran down the corridor shooting as he went.

At some point the Preachers reinforcements joined up with the main group and Rook gave instructions. Get the residents out and if the cultists tried to stop them, shoot them. He wanted to find Joey; she had been held prisoner long enough.

John Seed was about to charge a corridor when he was forced to hide behind a door and could only watch as his vanguard of trusted men and women were cut down by the Deputy and his squad. He snorted angrily, the source of his annoyance, his nemesis was here, and he would be the one to bring the Englishman’s head to his brother. Fuck the forgiveness thing, the Deputy had been a pain in his side since day one. He also knew exactly where the Deputy was heading, keeping his head down and firing blindly he made his way back, back to where he had Hudson held. Nate growled in frustration and without a word took off after John Seed, Jess and Sharky behind him, leaving Hurk to cover them.

“Like it or not Dep, it’s time for the boom.” And taking his rocket launcher he loaded it, aimed it and fired, taking out a host of angels and Peggies with it. “Yehaw that’s the way to fuck them up.”

“Idiot cousin of yours.” Jess shielded herself from the blast zone “he’ll bring the whole place down around our ears.”

“Come on Jess, you know Hurk and he did just save us from those freaky angels.” Sharky tried to explain his cousins actions but Jess was having none of it, instead she shoved Sharky aside and moved to follow Rook who was sprinting after the fleeing John Seed.

Nate leapt the obstacles that John threw in his path, at one point he slid under one of the fallen cabinets and used his smg’s to mow down the advancing cultists. He stopped as he came to a narrow corridor, it was the only place that John Seed could have gone. The lights had long since stopped working, the chaos that their people were causing had worked, there were fewer cultists here now. He wiped the sweat that coated his brow with his forearm and waited for Sharky and Jess to join him. Their disagreement forgotten it seemed. The trio crept down the corridor listening out for anything and anyone, eventually coming to a set of iron steps that led downwards, into the heart of the facility. Using his fingers to give directions the three of them altered their stances and raising their weapons moved sideways as they descended the stairs.

Nick checked his fuel gage and cursed a little under his breath. “I’m gonna have to return to base Adie, my fuel is low, won’t have enough to fly Carmine back if I carry on doing this.”

Adie looked around her and saw some of Johns fighter jocks homing in on Carmine. Without a word she moved Tulip up and round and brought her down behind the cults birds, letting her rockets fly. One missed the first plane, the second hit the back sending the bird spiralling down and exploding as it hit the ground. “You go on home Nick, Tulip and I will cover you till you land, then I’ll bring you back so we can go shoot us some Peggie shits.”

“Roger that Adie, thanks for the assist heading home now.”

Adie followed Nick back to his airfield and landed nearby. She watched the skies and when Nick climbed aboard, she took off heading back towards the bunker, she saw the reinforcements making their way towards the bunker. “Hold onto your hat honey,” She shot Nick a grin. Pulling a hard turn that had Nick holding onto the hand rail and laughing in a mix of shock and admiration, she brought her chopper in front of the convoy. Two rockets hit the fuel truck sending it up in a bright explosion that she flew through, two more took out the rear gunners and the APC, “Where in the name of the almighty did, they get an APC from?” Adie looked back as Tulip began another turn.

“Jacob, he’s ex-army remember” Nick told her and settled himself down, “Get them again Adie.”

“You got it sweet thing.”

Tulip strafed the trucks causing men and women to either duck down or leap out, those that leapt out and began to run towards the compound were struck down by a hidden sniper, Grace was already into double figures with her kill count. Those who tried to turn back were cut down by the helicopter’s powerful gatling gun. With the odds against them, the few who remained moved to their knees and put their hands behind their heads.

Jerome whirled his hand in salute as Tulip flew overhead letting his people stand guard over the prisoners.

“We’re gonna need to open up the old jail at this rate.” Adie looked out her door window.

“Nah, theres a big old bunker under the town.” Nick glanced out his door window and down “no other exits, no windows. Built to hold the entire county during the cold war. That’s where we’ll put them.”

“What about the Seeds?” Adie asked as she began to land Tulip. “Can’t put them in with the prisoners, else it’ll start again and Nates not serious about keeping them alive, is he?”

“I guess he is.” Nick sighed “But they won’t make it easy for him.”

“No, they won’t.” Adie landed her beloved chopper and turned everything else off. “Come join us Gracie, time to back my boys and girl up.”

“On my way.” Grace replied and twenty minuets later the three of them met up with Hurk and started clearing out the bunker.

John made his way into his confessional and was about to order his people to bring Joey to him when he saw a body on the floor, her head bashed in. Narrowing his eyes, he crouched down and turned the body over, not caring about the blood that coated his hand. If they had killed Hudson then they would suffer the same fate as the sinners. It was not Joey’s half crushed face that looked back at him, but that of the guard who had been ordered to watch her. Sighing heavily, John got to his feet and looked around him.

“I know you’re in here deputy Hudson.” He called out moving silently “I am not angry, you were held captive, you adapted and overcame your situation, all the more reason for us to save you from what’s coming.”

He got no answer but she was in here somewhere, she had to be, there was no other way out. Broken glass crunched underfoot and he looked down to see a picture of his brother Jacob, well she didn’t like him much either. He raised his shotgun and moved around the corner, ready to fire.

“Hey Seed!” He looked round and felt the baseball bat connect with the side of his face. Making him drop his shotgun.

Joey hit him again, this time in his stomach making him double over, blood coursed down the side of his face, causing him to blink several times to clear his vision. When she came at him again, he caught her bat and pushed against it matching her cry with one of his own.

The shot missed his head and hit the concrete behind him, turning at the sound John was about to draw his own gun when Joey drove her bat into the side of his head once more and knocked him to the floor. Her swing was stopped by someone else. Whirling like a wildcat she landed a punch on the side of her assailants jaw and was about to strike again when she heard Jessie.

“Joey it’s us, it’s ok.”

Joey stopped and stared, wild eyed and maybe a bit insane now she barely registered the voice until she heard that strange English accent.

“It’s ok Joey, ease down pet.” The man she had punched rested a hand on her shoulder, “It’s me, Nate, we’ve come to take you home.”

Home? She lowered her arm and finally fell into Nates hug. “He tortured us all, all to get us to say Yes,” She kicked the body on the floor viciously “sadistic fucker!”

“He’ll get what’s coming I promise Joey.” He motioned Sharky over “Take her back out,”

“You got it Dep.” Sharky came over and wrapped his arm around Joey “Come on Joey, time to go.” He led her gently out and up the stairs. 

Nate grabbed a plastic tie from the bench and looked up as he heard Jessie’s cursing, he stared as he saw the skinned bodies hanging from the ceiling. “You really are a sick fuck aren’t you!” he hissed into the groaning John Seeds face. Pulling him up he pulled his hands behind his back and tied them. “You have the right to remain silent, if you don’t remain silent, I’ll let Jess here cut your fucking tongue out.” He tied the ties and shoved him forward “I should fucking cut you up myself for what you have done here and to my friend you bastard but I am not,”

“Killing me would be the wiser option deputy.” John sneered.

“Not going to give you the satisfaction dick weed.” Nate growled shoving him up the stairs “Not going to make a martyr out of you.”

Mary watched as they all came back into the bar, the prisoners now languishing in one of the many bunkers under the county and John Seed was locked up in one of the old jails bunkers. Grace had taken Joey upto one of the rooms and was with her, Mary grabbed Nates head and kissed him long and hard.

“I got coffee on the go for you all.” She said as she began fussing over them all. “Is it wise keeping John Seed alive?” She asked Nate and Jerome.

“Probably not, but if we had killed him, we would have made him a Martyr” Jerome told her “and that is a dangerous thing to do Mary.”

“This way he will be nothing more than a failure.” Nate told her “A failure to his cult and more importantly to his brother.”

“I sure hope you boys are right.” Adie sat at the bar and took the coffee.

“Yeah they are going to try and rescue him.” Nick warned as he sat beside his wife and baby daughter.

“You think they will try and take back Falls End to get him?” Kim asked.

“He’s not in Falls End.” Nate told her “Jerome and I took him where they won’t find him. We left him food, took out the weapons and any means of making any.”

“He won’t be getting any visitors for a while, and the only visits he will get is from me or Nate. When we have the others then we call the feds and they can take them away.” Jerome looked towards the stairs “For now, Joey needs our love and attention.”


End file.
